


Unseen

by level46sakimitama



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fireworks, Flashbacks, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, I have no idea what I'm doing, but I'm shipping it anyway and there's nothing you can do to stop me, charming little rogue & pretty little princess, ey let's give the cat some love, he needs it, spoilers up to 10/11
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-11
Updated: 2018-10-11
Packaged: 2019-07-29 17:41:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16269167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/level46sakimitama/pseuds/level46sakimitama
Summary: When I was broken, you made me whole.I was the thief, but my heart you stole.This is slightly kinda badly written yet stubbornly existent fanfiction for the severely underrated shipping. Because I can.





	Unseen

**Author's Note:**

> Obsessions, confessions, and make-out sessions.
> 
> …Okay, maybe not the last one. But it got close.
> 
> HEAR ME OUT ON THIS ONE.
> 
> I promise I’ve thought this through, alright? Just… just read it. Please.
> 
> Lemme be the first to say I wrote a terribly awkward fic about MonaHaru, and I’m damn proud of it.

* * *

 

 

Were cats usually allowed inside amusement parks?

 

Morgana grinned to himself as the thought occurred to him for the first time. Well, he supposed it didn’t really matter now…!

 

The black cat was standing on a huge table spread with a white tablecloth, laden with dish upon dish of mouth-wateringly good looking food, as he took in the sights, sounds, and smells of the vibrant scene around him. Having succeeded in changing the heart of their latest target, the corrupt CEO of Okumura Foods, Kunikazu Okumura, the Phantom Thieves were enjoying a well-earned celebration party at Destinyland, the kingdom of dreams, one of the biggest theme parks in Tokyo. Maybe all of Japan. This was their fifth celebration party, which had now become pretty much a tradition of any of their major heists, though everyone could agree that this was the best one yet. By a great stroke of luck, and with the generous assistance of their newest teammate, they had the whole park reserved all to themselves, and even had even had a catering service bring out the vast array of dishes for them, all of which were incredible. This place didn’t mess around. Everything had luxury written all over it. And they had it all to themselves. They were in heaven. They could hardly believe it wasn’t all a dream. The night was young, but the party was in full swing, and the group of teenagers, who would normally never get an opportunity as luxurious as this, were making sure to get the most they could out of it.

 

This would truly be a memory they cherished for the rest of their lives.

 

And yet…

 

Morgana felt the grin slide off his face, painfully aware of one other thing.

 

Futaba, wearing a fake pair of souvenir bunny ears, was pouncing repeatedly on Ryuji, attempting to force a similar pair of bear ears on his head despite the blonde’s best attempts to fend her off. Yusuke, the blue-haired artist, was holding up his hands, forming a frame with his fingers, chuckling in quiet satisfaction as he took in the magnificent sights around them. Even Makoto, though usually a bit quieter than the others, was acting lively, chatting animatedly to the girl next to while they both steadily devoured more of the party fare than the rest combined.

 

As Morgana looked around at his teammates, all of them having the time of their lives, he felt a small note of dissatisfaction worming its way, unbidden, into his heart.

 

No-one paid any attention to the small black cat sitting alone on the end of the table.

 

Morgana sighed. He shouldn’t be dwelling on things like this. But he couldn’t help it.

 

They all seemed to be having so much fun. Not that he wasn’t, of course. How could he not be? Just the atmosphere alone was enough to satisfy him, with a huge, mesmerizing castle illuminated beneath a dark night sky, which was itself occasionally lit up by magnificent flashes of red and gold fireworks. It was like something out of a dream. He honestly felt as though he could’ve died happy right then. But… they were all having fun without him. He didn't mind, exactly… He knew he could easily put himself in the center of the party if he wanted. The only problem was, he felt no real inclination to do so. There was no need, he reasoned to himself, no reason for him to have to interrupt them when they were all having a good time on their own. It wasn’t like he was really the greatest company, anyway. And… there was something about all this that felt hollow to him. As if there was something missing. He just didn’t know what.

 

No… he knew what, he just didn’t want to acknowledge it.

 

His gaze drifted from Makoto to the girl beside her, resting on the light blonde hair of someone he’d had a crush on for a long time.

 

_Lady Ann…_

 

Though he couldn’t see them, he could tell her blue eyes were probably shining with joy… She seemed to all the world to be wrapped in blissful contentment, laughing airily, unaware of the deep gaze that bored straight into the back of her head.

 

She’d seemed perfect when he first met her. She was strong, kind, good-looking… He had tried so hard to catch her attention, to get her to notice him, to make her look at him the same way he looked at her… But it never really worked out. No, more like he never really tried hard enough. He had never even really taken the time to get to know her, anyway. Thinking about it now, he realized he hardly knew anything about her. She always seemed so… illusory, unattainable, too… too good for him. Though he prided himself on being a fearless phantom thief who could look death straight in the eyes without flinching, he could be so pathetic when it came to stuff like this.

 

But it still hurt to see her with her back to him, laughing, having a good time, all without him…

 

She really was beautiful when she laughed. And… The cat-eared headband that poked up from beneath her light blonde hair looked almost ironically cute to him… Morgana’s heart gave a bitter twinge. He knew she wasn’t doing it on purpose… He knew if he ever wanted her to actually know how he felt he’d just have to scrap together his courage and tell her. But who’d want to have a _cat_ come up and confess their love to them? It was… It was unnatural. That was why he’d needed to become human; he felt as though just being human would solve his problem, put him on the same level as her, finally give him the courage he needed to do something about his feelings… But as time dwindled on, and he got no closer to figuring out how to become human, Morgana had realized he was starting to feel less… intense, less passionate about the whole thing. Lately, he’d started feeling more and more that… maybe it was just a fantasy anyway.

 

And besides…

 

As Morgana looked on, Ryuji, having finally accepted the fate of wearing bear ears, leaned over to mutter something teasingly to the cat-eared blonde. She snapped a reply at him, he grumbled back indignantly, and the two of them started bickering back and forth, like they always did. Even if it looked like a “fight” to anyone else… truth was, that was just the way they worked. They knew each other better than most, and they fought over the smallest things just because they knew which buttons to push. And Morgana wasn’t dumb enough to not be able to pick up the fondness in both of their voices, barely masked, as they bickered like an old married couple. He had to admit… they fit well together.

 

So maybe it would be better to just… leave her alone. Maybe it’d be better to just let someone else make her happy…

 

The cat let out a small, pining mewl, looking around, once again, at the breathtaking scenery around him.

 

It was a rather romantic scene, wasn’t it? It was the kind of scene anyone would dream of, of getting lost in an enchanted, magical atmosphere while that special someone whispered sweet nothings in your ear…

 

If only he wasn’t some lame, tiny cat.

 

Morgana felt so alone.

 

“Hey, Morgana. What are you thinking about?”

 

Suddenly Morgana felt a soft weight brush him on the back of his head, and he turned to see someone reaching out a hand towards him, scratching behind his ears. A dark-haired teenager wearing glasses looked down at him with concern. Akira. “M-Mreh!?” Morgana huffed indignantly, ducking away from his companion’s hand and shaking his head.

 

“N-Nothing!” he meowed back, a little too quickly. “I’m just… glad to see everyone having a good time, that’s all!” He tried to give Akira a wide grin, displaying his shining white set of cat fangs. He should’ve known better than to try and fool the Phantom Thieves’ leader, though. After a few moments of trying to maintain a forced smile, he saw Akira’s cheerful yet worried look hadn’t changed a bit. Somehow, Akira always seemed to be able to tell exactly what he was thinking. His grin faded a little.

 

“Nothing’s wrong… I mean, nothing should be…” he mewed quietly, trying not to let the others overhear. It wasn’t fair for him to be acting all down in the dumps when this was supposed to be their celebration party, a time for them to relax and enjoy themselves. “I just…”

 

“…You feel out of place?” Akira finished his unspoken thought, a look of understanding dawning on his face immediately.

 

“Yeah…” Morgana let his ears droop, giving his friend a quick, apologetic glance before his eyes traveled to his paws. He didn’t mean to, honestly. He knew they all cared about him more than anything. They’d already had a huge heart-to-heart over his place in the group, and Morgana really felt like he belonged with them now. But still…

 

“I just… Can’t help but feel sorry for myself,” he admitted, looking up at Akira. “I’m sorry… I know it’s really selfish of me, but…” he broke off as he heard a deep chuckle.

 

“Morgana… You gloomy, adorable little furball.” Akira slowly shook his head, his eyes alight with amusement and fondness. “You don’t have to apologize to me. I know better than most the kind of things we unconsciously let ourselves dwell on… I can’t even begin to imagine what sort of thoughts are going on in your head. I’m just sorry I can’t help more…”

 

“I-It’s not your fault!” Morgana said quickly, glancing back up at Akira in surprise. “I mean, you’re just… Gah, this is exactly why I didn’t wanna tell you! I knew you were just gonna get all sentimental and mushy on me…”

Akira let out a quiet laugh, reaching out to stroke Morgana’s ears again. This time, the cat let him do it, though he still looked at the human with a grumpy frown. It was nice, though, to know that Akira was still willing to listen to him, even if he couldn’t exactly help with what the cat was going through…

 

But Morgana forgot.

 

This was Akira he was talking about.

 

Somehow, he always found the weirdest solutions to the weirdest problems.

 

“You know…” Akira said, dropping his voice and giving Morgana a significant look. “I think someone else is having trouble sorting through their thoughts tonight, too…”

 

Akira turned in his seat to look towards the edge of the pavilion. Morgana followed his gaze away from the table until it fell on the form of a girl leaning on a metal fence, a girl with light, fluffy brown hair, her petite frame wrapped in a puffy pink sweater and polka-dotted tights. She rested against the rail with her back to the others, looking up at the sky with an unreadable expression.

 

She complimented the view perfectly, outlined with a soft glow by the luminescence of the park around her. Morgana felt his heartbeat quicken ever so slightly as he took in the tranquil scene. But at the same time… something about it didn’t sit right with him, either.

 

She didn’t look sad… but there was something wistful about the way she gazed up at the firework-filled sky. Some aura of loneliness surrounded her as she stared, seeming to be, for a moment, lost in her own world.

 

_Haru…_

 

Suddenly, Morgana blinked, realizing he’d been staring. He turned back to look at Akira, who was, predictably, smirking at him with a very knowing grin.

 

“W-What are you saying, Akira?” Morgana narrowed his eyes at him, feeling his face grow just a touch hotter. Akira was the kind of guy who got the weirdest ideas in his head sometimes, and once he was convinced of something, there was no telling him otherwise. But whatever he thought he was suggesting, it clearly couldn’t be further from the truth. Morgana might have been momentarily, well… entranced… by the overall effect of the view, but it had just been an instinctive reaction. It wasn’t like he was… It wasn’t like he had any-

 

Akira’s glasses glinted, his expression caught halfway between amusement and seriousness. “I’m just saying… Look at her.” Morgana was trying desperately _not_ to look at her, his face becoming even hotter as Akira’s smug eyes dug into him. “It seems like she could use an ear. And it might help you clear your head, too.”

 

Morgana opened his mouth to argue that speaking to Haru would do the exact opposite of clearing his head, that he was _not_ cut out for… whatever Akira was suggesting. But Akira’s next words drove the argument right out of him. “This could be your golden opportunity, you know…”

 

“A-An opportunity to do what, exactly?” he sputtered back, feeling himself grow hotter by the second. “Seriously, Akira, I don’t what you’re-”

 

“Besides, what kind of a phantom thief would ignore a young lady in need?” Akira continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “You know her better than any of us, don’t you?”

 

At this, Morgana felt himself stiffen, every hair on his pelt seeming to tingle. That… That was true, but…

 

“But I’m just a cat…” he whispered, looking dejectedly down at his paws. Even Akira shouldn’t be able to get around that. What Akira said next, however, caused him to jerk his head up in surprise.

 

“No, you’re not. You’re a human who just happens to look like a cat right now.” His face had lost most of its amusement now. He looked very serious. “That’s what you told her, isn’t it? And you know what?” He leaned forward, looking Morgana straight in the eyes and giving him an encouraging grin. “I think she believes you.”

 

“A-Akira…”

 

Morgana, for a moment, opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, feeling like a fish out of water. But Akira didn’t say anything more; he just gave the cat a quick wink and turned back to the group, leaving the cat alone to deal with the weight of the very disquieting suggestion that’d just been dropped on him.

 

He sure had a flair for dramatic exits. But damn, if it wasn’t annoying sometimes.

 

In the silence of his sudden departure, Morgana stole another quick, secretive glance at Haru. This time, he allowed his eyes to linger a bit longer, trailing slowly from the sparkling fireworks in the sky to the girl shadowed so flawlessly beneath them. He had to admit, it was really quite something to look at. His gaze lingered just a little longer, moving down from her fluffy brown head to her shoulders, covered in that comfy-looking pink sweater, over her back, across her whole body… It was… _really_ nice to look at. And that was just from over here. Something within him faintly yearned to approach her, to look at her face, to see what her expression held. Something within him wanted to know if, perhaps… she wouldn’t mind his presence.

 

_Holy…_

 

Maybe… maybe Akira had been right.

 

He gulped, suddenly feeling even more self-conscious than he had been before. He cast a quick glance at the others. None of them were paying him any mind, though he supposed it wasn’t such a bad thing, now. None of them noticed the way his paws kneaded the tablecloth, fidgeting nervously. None of them noticed the way his eyes darted between them and Haru, his heart leaping in his throat. None of them noticed the way he was _freaking out over here!_ But at the same time… it also felt like that gave him a small degree of freedom, gave him the freedom to be himself, to be less inhibited. So if he was ever going to do this… now would be the time.

 

And a true phantom thief always operated unseen, after all.

 

_I… can totally do this!_

 

Morgana leapt off the table, landing rather stiffly on the stone brick of the pavilion. He’d been sitting still for far too long, he realized, but he quickly shook it off, gathering himself and crossing the distance between him and the fence in a nervous trot. Before he could think, before he could give himself time to chicken out, he leapt onto the railing beside Haru, balancing perfectly with feline grace.

 

Morgana looked up at Haru as the dazzling display of fireworks glimmered in her hair, sending ripples of color across its fluffy sheen. The smooth, white skin of her face also seemed to glow with a faint light. It was, in a word… gorgeous. His mouth felt very dry. He suddenly wished he’d snagged a bite of one of those Donut-Worrys on the food table before coming over. Every hair on his pelt tingled in nervous anticipation, and his legs felt like some of the jelly he’d seen Yusuke eating earlier. He dug his claws into the metal railing, gripping it tightly, feeling as though he might fall off.

 

_Breathe… Breathe, Morgana!_

 

He inhaled slowly, psyching himself up as if he were about to perform a heist. He was a phantom thief! He was a noble and chivalrous hero of the night! Surely he could handle a few moments of having a normal conversation with one of his teammates without turning into a quivering mess?

 

It was just… a conversation. Nothing to freak out over.

 

He quickly ran through a list of opening lines in his head, things that a real gentleman thief would greet a troubled young lady with on a pleasant night.

 

_My, such a fretful gaze hardly suits your elegant visage. Whatever is the matter?_

 

_It pains my heart to see a fair maiden such as yourself look so distressed. Is there anything I can do to help?_

 

_Good evening, miss. What thoughts trouble your fair mind?_

 

Morgana decided upon the third, as it was the shortest. Less time to trip over his words. He opened his mouth to speak, summoning what little courage he had left.

 

“…Hey.”

 

_Oh, real smooth, Morgana._

 

Briefly, he gave himself a mental slap for the pathetically fumbled greeting. He tried to ignore the uncomfortable heat rising his his cheeks. For the first time, he was thankful for the black fur on his face, a mask sufficient to hide his embarrassment. Or so he hoped. He really wasn’t sure how long he’d be able to keep this up… but he wasn’t giving in now. He steeled his nerves and forced himself not to back down like a coward. Now that he was here, he might as well try and make something of it. Bravely, he pushed on. “What’s up? Is something on your mind?”

 

Haru turned to look at him, her hazel eyes widening slightly in surprise. “Oh, I’m sorry, Mona-chan! I didn’t mean to worry you…” She glanced briefly at the others, her eyes darting to the side rapidly. It was as though she felt tentative looking at them, as if she would feel guilty if they saw her like this. “I’m glad everyone seems to be enjoying themselves…” Morgana’s heart twinged. Her words echoed his perfectly… which definitely meant something was going on in her head.

 

“…Is something wrong?” he asked her quietly. He hoped his concern was evident enough in his voice.

 

“N-No… Nothing’s wrong, exactly…” she stuttered, attempting to give him a reassuring smile, though her eyes betrayed a sense of the discord within her. Morgana furrowed his brow. He wasn’t as observant as Akira, but he’d have to be blind not to see that her smile was as forced as his had been. But in his case, he’d just been brooding on things he should’ve been able to move past. It wasn’t as if he had any real problem. It didn’t make sense for this girl, who could always be bright and cheerful no matter the circumstances, offering comfort and encouragement to the others, to look so lost amid such a lighthearted atmosphere. She was even the one who they owed the party to in the first place; it was her who had managed to reserve the park for them. She’d been looking forward to this as much as anyone.

 

So why… was she so unhappy?

 

Morgana made up his mind. His problems could wait. He needed to help out Haru in any way he could.

 

“Something _is_ wrong, Haru. I can tell,” His eyes flashed suddenly as inspiration struck him. “You can’t pull the wool over the eyes of a real gentleman thief, you know!” he mewed teasingly.

 

Gah, what had that been? It sounded so dumb…

 

To his surprise, however, Haru actually let out a quiet giggle at his words. “Of course…” she said, smiling a little more genuinely. Morgana’s stomach did a tiny flip as he saw her features brightened by laughter momentarily. “How silly of me. But…” The next moment, she’d turned away from him, staring down at her hands. Morgana’s stomach gave another, equally painful flip as he saw the smile leave her face, as quickly as it had come. “You really don’t need to bother yourself with this… It’s not your problem…”

 

Not his problem, huh? Well then, he was making it his problem.

 

“I beg to differ, young miss,” he said smartly, raising his tail in the air. “If a gentleman thief sees a lady such as yourself in clear distress, it is their duty to relieve it in any way possible. I could never leave you to deal with such troubles on your own.”

 

_…Oh, come on. Now you’re just trying way too hard._

 

It got another giggle out of Haru, though. She then turned to look at the others again, her eyes shining. “The Phantom Thieves…” she breathed, almost reverentially. “Honestly, sometimes I can hardly believe it. This all feels like a dream. I’d never have believed that I would end up being a part of this, that I would find myself among so many talented and noble people. But… that’s the thing. I…”

 

Haru shifted on her feet, dropping her gaze to her hands. When she spoke, her voice was barely more than a whisper. “I don’t really belong here, do I?”

 

“Wh… What do you mean?” Morgana responded cautiously. Okay, he couldn’t keep the whole gentleman thief thing going for very long, but to be perfectly honest, he was fine with that. It’d helped him get through some of the irrational panic he’d felt at first, but now that he was getting closer to the problem, he thought it’d be better to drop the facade. She was her and he was him. Thieving aside, they both had their own, very real problems.

 

“I’m… sorry…” Haru muttered after a moment. “I didn’t mean to be so blunt, especially when you’re all trying to have a good time… I’m just bringing the mood down, aren’t I?” she sighed, looking quite weary. “I should be over there socializing with them all… Especially since this was supposed to celebrate my introduction to the team…” she broke off, shaking her head. “I don’t mind socializing. I’m good at it. I’ve practiced it a lot, for whenever I had to attend one of my father’s business meetings. This is much more enjoyable than those, But…” She turned to look at Morgana, and he saw a forlorn look in her hazel eyes. “For some reason, I feel out of place tonight…”

 

For a moment, Morgana could only stare, fumbling wordlessly, trying to come up with some sort of reassurance that didn’t sound bland or cliched. It was hard, especially since what it seemed she was feeling sounded almost exactly the same thing he had felt not minutes ago. Akira was much better at trying to comfort someone than he was. Akira was the one who always inspired confidence when the people around him were struggling, no matter how hard their problems were… Could Morgana really be like that? He wasn’t sure… But just then, he recalled what Akira had said to him, that he knew Haru better than any of them. Maybe… maybe this was something only he could do. So first, he settled for trying to cheer her up, no matter how cheesy he had to be.

 

“It’s all right,” he mewed warmly. “Don’t feel like you have to hide away or cover up your feelings just to save face. Forget the others for a minute. I’m here. If you need to talk about anything, I’m willing to listen.”

 

…Gah, that sounded way too cheesy.

 

But it seemed to cheer Haru up a bit. She briefly gave Morgana a grateful smile, appreciation lighting her eyes like a candle. She looked so much better when she smiled. Morgana swallowed, his heartbeat quickening again. For some reason, he could handle taking on hordes of shadows in the Metaverse. He could look death straight in the eyes and even grin back fearlessly. But right now, just being next to this girl made him feel like he was melting on the inside.

 

_Um, hello? Can you pull yourself together for, like, five seconds?_

 

But then Haru turned her gaze back to her hands, looking unsure of what to say. Fine, then. If she didn’t know how to tell him what she was thinking, Morgana would have to find out himself.

 

“Are you still upset about your father?” he asked her quietly, yet persistently.

 

“No… No, I’m not,” she said firmly, and Morgana could tell by the look in her eyes that she meant it. “I know that changing my father’s distorted heart was the right thing to do, and that it’s helped a lot of innocent people who were suffering because of it… But… Is it really fair for me to get to enjoy this victory? After all, I…” She shook her head. “I haven’t been acting like a noble phantom thief. I wasn’t thinking about the people who were undergoing so much hardship… I was just thinking about myself. I wanted to change his heart all for my own sake. This whole time, I’ve only been helping myself…”

 

_That’s not true… You helped us! You helped me…_ Morgana wanted to say, but before he could get the words out, Haru was continuing on.

 

“It’s just… I don’t know if I’m really cut out for being a phantom thief…” she said sadly, twisting her hands on the metal railing. “You… You’ve all done so much to help me, and all I’ve done is wallow in my own selfish problems… I joined you just because I wanted to change my father’s heart, but now that we have…” She turned back to Morgana. “Is there really any reason for me to stay here?”

 

Morgana stared fixedly back into her eyes, his brow narrowing further. She seemed far less conflicted about showing her emotions now, but he could still feel a deep sadness emanating from her heart.

 

Not cut out…?

 

If anyone was cut out for being a phantom thief, she was.

 

She’d been the only one there for him in the brief period when he’d left the team. He’d struck out on his own, determined to prove that he was just as capable a Phantom Thief as any of the others, but in the end he couldn’t even steal a single heart without her help. She’d found him, wounded and exhausted, on the floor of her father’s Palace, after he’d accidentally dragged her in with him. In his dazed state, he had actually initially mistaken her for Akira, feeling, as he looked up at the silhouetted face, just a small glimmer of hope, that maybe they’d actually cared enough to come find him after all. It was… hardly his proudest moment. But… Haru was the only one who knew about that, too, wasn’t she?

 

Morgana’s insides squirmed in embarrassment, suddenly realizing how much more of himself he’d shown to Haru than any of the others, intentionally or not. There was just something about her that made him feel comfortable, made him feel safe in confiding in her. She never laughed at him, she never poked fun at him the way Ryuji always did, but instead had taken him very seriously from the moment she met him.

 

He’d felt obligated to tell her about the Metaverse after she’d saved him. Though he’d been shocked to learn that she was the daughter of his target, he was even more shocked to learn that she wanted to change her father’s heart, too. He’d thought something was off, then… He’d noticed something wrong in her eyes then, but he’d been too worried about his own mission to give it much thought.

 

He remembered the way her eyes lit up in joy and wonder when he informed he that he was a Phantom Thief, a noble hero who could make corrupt people have a change of heart and confess their crimes. He may or may not have just been mindlessly bragging at the time… but apparently she had been a huge fan of the Phantom Thieves for a while. She’d even made a request on their website to have her father’s heart changed… That earnest request had probably been buried under the countless others all clamoring to see Okumura get a change of heart just for the lulz.

 

It had seemed almost like fate then. A weird, yet oddly gratifying fate that had brought them together, tying them together in a way he’d never felt tied to the others, not even Akira.

 

All the same, he hadn’t expected to see her eyes suddenly light up with such intensity when she learned of his power, his mission, and his goal. He hadn’t expected her to request to help him. If he’d had even a scrap of the chivalry of a real gentleman thief, he wouldn’t have let her get involved. It would be too dangerous, too strenuous for a young woman like her. But Morgana hadn’t been thinking clearly then.

 

And he’d already learned how disastrous it would be to go alone.

 

There was one thing he couldn’t deny, though… One thing her burning hazel eyes conveyed to him quite clearly from the very beginning. She was serious about this. She wanted to be a Phantom Thief so badly it must’ve hurt.

 

And so… They had made their deal.

 

They… were partners now. They had sworn to stick together, to help each other in their mission, to never let each other give up no matter what.

 

But after everything she’d done for him, everything she’d become to him, she still thought she was being selfish just for wanting to choose her own path for once in her life…?

 

It was so unfair.

 

As the newest member of their team, it might’ve made sense that she felt a little inept at first, but it didn’t mean she was inconsiderate. It might’ve made sense that she felt she hadn’t done anything worthy of recognition, but not to this degree. She was beating herself up over nothing…

 

Morgana’s heart twinged, as the realization of what might be the problem sunk into him. She constantly put the needs of others before her own, even doing her best to please her father when that father treated her just like a commodity for his own gain. It might’ve been that no-one had ever really given her credit for when she did things right, and she’d grown to believe that always doing whatever she could for the sake of others, taking no time to think about herself, and receiving no thanks for it was natural.

 

But it wasn’t.

 

It was more unnatural than him being a cat.

 

Her inner conflict was much, _much_ more serious than his.

 

She was incredibly strong, incredibly kind, and an incredibly skilled phantom thief. If no-one else was going to tell her that, then it might as well be him.

 

“Don’t be ridiculous,” he said, tilting his chin up, looking at her downcast face, willing her to do the same. “Of course you belong here. You’re an amazing phantom thief. You may not be able to see it yourself… but I can.” Morgana grinned slightly to himself, a small, fond smile that went unnoticed by Haru. He almost wished it wasn’t. He wanted her to see how much she meant to him. He loved seeing the fervent, innocent joy that brightened her features every time she showed her courageous and noble spirit. He loved watching the way she acted whenever she let herself be free. He wanted to make sure that flame never went out. “You carry a will of rebellion and fortitude that won’t back down and won’t give up what you believe in. That’s all a phantom thief needs. Don’t worry about it if you feel like you aren’t up to the task at first. Trust me, we all felt the same way at some point or another. Even me… But as long as you hold on to that spirit of justice, that spirit to stand up for what you think is right… You’ll be just fine. You are not selfish,” he finished firmly.

 

“B-But…” she stuttered hesitantly, not letting herself believe in his words. Morgana lowered his chin and raised an eyebrow at her, daring her to argue, daring her to find some reason to criticize herself now.

 

“But still… Isn’t it rude of me to be acting like such a, um…” she cast around for the right words, glancing briefly at the others once more. “A _loner_ , when this party was my idea in the first place?”

 

_…Did you seriously just call yourself a loner? Oh my gosh, Haru…_

 

“It’s okay to be a loner sometimes, you know,” Morgana responded, grinning in amusement. _I mean, c’mon, we’re phantom thieves. Dark and brooding is kinda our aesthetic?_ He almost started to mention that he was glad that they got a chance to spend more time alone together before he caught himself and hastily stamped the thought out. Bad Mona. “You don’t have to feel like you’re… _obligated_ to socialize all the time. The celebration party’s also supposed to be a time to relax and enjoy yourself. It doesn’t have to be like those stiff, formal, _boring_ gatherings you used to have to attend.” He chuckled, smiling warmly at her. “You’re already one of us. You don’t have to do anything special to prove it. Just… be yourself.”

 

_You could stand to follow your own advice a bit more, you know,_ the voice in the back of his mind said.

 

_…Whatever,_ he thought back.

 

For a moment, Haru was silent, considering his words. Morgana titled his head to the side, grinning, waiting for a response.

 

Then, she smiled.

 

It was a slightly strained smile, still, but… Morgana allowed his grin to widen in satisfaction. It was the kind of look he wanted to see. It was a look that suited her far better than the melancholy expression she’d worn before. Success!

 

“T-Thank you, Mona-chan…” she spoke quietly, breaking away from his gaze. “You’re right. I should… I should be more confident, like you…”

 

Aw, she was acting shy. It was so… cute.

 

Morgana felt his grin grow even wider, suddenly feeling a bit bolder. Maybe Akira had been right when he said that this would help the cat to clear his mind. Now that the melancholy look was draining from Haru’s eyes, he was beginning to feel more confident himself. And maybe _he_ had been right when he thought this was something only he could do. After all, he’d always seemed to be able to brighten Haru’s mood in their time together before, however small it might have been. So maybe he could do something about the tangled mess of feelings inside himself, too. He couldn’t navigate his team in battle… but maybe he could navigate his way through a delicate minefield of emotions to help her… Maybe he could navigate his way into her heart.

 

It was worth a shot.

 

“Well, now that I’m here…” he began, taking on a classy tone suitable for a chivalrous gentleman. “Are there any other thoughts that trouble your fair mind, my lady?” Yes! He’d finally managed to get that line out! It was pretty suave, if he did say so himself.

 

Haru giggled again, much more freely than she had done before. “My, how considerate of you, sir!” she responded daintily, bending her knees slightly and dipping into a small curtsy. (Morgana allowed himself an internal smirk, feeling rather pleased with himself. Finally, some appreciation…) “I’m flattered that an honorable gentleman thief such as yourself would take the time to listen to woes of a poor young woman like me.”

 

Morgana laughed lightly, feeling elated. She seemed to be back to normal. The best times were when they could both have fun acting all classy and sophisticated together. They were so awesome.

 

“But, you know…” Haru continued, a hint of mischief creeping into her voice. “If I am truly as great a phantom thief as you’ve told me I am, I feel it’s only proper for me to repay your kindness in turn. So it’s your turn to tell me, Mona-chan… Is there anything on your mind?”

 

…Damn, she was good. With silver-tongued grace, she’d turned the tables on him, putting the spotlight on him even though he’d been the one trying to help her.

 

She always seemed to be able to catch him off guard and get him to reveal parts of himself he didn’t even know he had. Or parts that were there, but he didn’t want to acknowledge.

 

Though he supposed that was part of why he liked her, too. It was so easy, so comfortable, for them to tease each other and chat like this. Morgana had really only ever been able to do that with Akira. Haru, however… She seemed even better at breaking past his guard and extracting the inner thoughts he usually kept tightly locked within himself. Or maybe it was because he didn’t actually try so hard to hide his feelings from her.

 

Morgana swallowed. It would be kind of uncomfortable to talk about this with anyone, let alone her… But she had been honest with him, and if he was ever going to get this off his chest, there wasn’t really anyone he’d rather tell… He just hoped he could get through this without accidentally revealing too much.

 

Or not enough.

 

“There is… one thing…” he began hesitantly, trailing off almost immediately. Great. He couldn’t even finish one sentence without getting cold feet. How did he even plan on explaining this, anyway? He barely knew how he felt himself. But Haru smiled encouragingly at him, and, feeling a warm drop trickle into his stomach, he continued. “It’s just that I… I’ve never really felt like I… could do anything I could be proud of.”

 

_I could never… be as good as I want to be._

 

“…Are you still doubting yourself?” he heard her ask quietly.

 

Morgana twitched.

 

He didn’t want to keep bringing this up. He didn’t want to keep whining about the same thing over and over… But Haru was looking at him insistently. There was no getting around it. “A bit…” he answered her. “But it’s something more than that. I feel like… I just get in the way. If I ever try to really do what _I_ want… It’ll only end up hurting other people.”

 

For a moment, she didn’t respond to this. He didn’t even know if she could. It was a far more vague, far less rational thought than what she had been worrying about. But it was nagging at Morgana, and he felt as if he didn’t get this out now, he’d explode.

 

Everything that was really troubling him… everything he’d been feeling since the beginning of the evening… seemed like it could be summed up in a single memory.

 

And in that silent moment, the span of a second that seemed to last for hours, that dark, foul memory crept back into his head…

 

He had… hurt her before.

 

It had only been a month ago… but it burned in his mind as though it happened yesterday.

 

* * *

 

 

_Night had fallen by the time they left Mementos, slipping back into the real world easily. Morgana, tired and bristling with indignant fury, walked ahead of Haru through a dark side alley of Shibuya. They’d just managed to outsmart and outmaneuver the Phantom Thieves in the Metaverse after being hunted down like a pair of mice. Morgana seethed just thinking about the actions of his former teammates. So, they finally realized how vital he really was and now they wanted to come crawling back to him? They thought some stupid little apology would be enough to make him forgive them? Panting heavily, the furious cat stormed across the cold pavement, barely caring where he was going as long as he got a long ways away from those selfish bastards._

 

_“Hmph, serves them right,” he meowed to himself in smug satisfaction as he padded through the alley, Haru following close in his pawsteps. He didn’t care about the others anymore. He had Haru now. Haru, the only one who’d ever treated him like he could do anything!_

 

_Even that was too generous for him, though._

 

_Despite how much she trusted him, despite everything she’d done for him, he still couldn’t do anything right._

 

_Morgana heard Haru speak tentatively behind him, causing him to stop. “Are you sure that was what you wanted…?” Her voice felt like a drop of cool water, taking the edge of his anger…_

 

_But he’d been too ignorant to listen._

 

_He hesitated for only a split second, but then shook his head in dismissal. She didn’t understand. “…Of course it was!” he said stubbornly, determinedly looking away from her._

 

_He walked along ahead of her, consumed by his own fuming thoughts, not noticing that the sound of her footsteps had stopped behind him. He wasn’t thinking about anything but his own selfish anger, directed at the ones he’d once called his friends, as they tried to drag him back to a place he didn’t belong._

 

_If he’d been less wrapped up in his own problems, he might’ve been able to hear the sound of slow footsteps behind him. Footsteps that didn’t belong to Haru._

 

_What he did hear was a voice, quiet, cold, and almost as furious as he felt._

 

_“You made me look everywhere for you…”_

 

_Morgana whipped his head around in surprise._

 

_A figure had appeared, almost out of nowhere, between him and Haru. A man with sleek, bright orange hair and wearing a white suit that stood in stark contrast to the dark alley they stood in was advancing slowly, menacingly, on the young woman, who now looked more frightened than Morgana had ever seen her in the Metaverse._

 

_“What were you doing somewhere without any reception? Out late with guys- That’s it, isn’t it?” the well-dressed man sneered, hardly giving her a chance to respond._

 

_“I would never do such a thing…!” Haru breathed, taking a fearful step back._

 

_For a moment, Morgana couldn’t do anything besides watch the scene unfold before him, frozen in place. A million questions suddenly rushed through his head, but above them all, a single instinct rang out in alarm._

 

_Haru was in danger._

 

_She flinched as the man grabbed her arm roughly, opening her mouth to try and say something, but no words came out._

 

_At that moment, Morgana suddenly felt a seething fury blossom inside him, his jaw dropping in outrage._ _How dare this low-class, insensitive slimeball lay a hand on_ his _partner,_ his _Beauty Thief?_

 

_She was frozen in fear, rooted to the spot and trembling. Even though she recoiled from the harsh contact, her attempts to break free were hesitant, restrained. She wanted to get away, but she didn’t want to hurt him. Even when it got her hurt, she still thought about others. She could even spare a shred of compassion for this man, whoever he was, even as he tugged at her arm sharply, pulling her towards him. “C’mon, let me have some fun too, will ya?” he said, his eyes gleaming with twisted delight._

 

_The indignant rage inside Morgana boiled even hotter. Fun? Was that all this guy saw Haru as? A source of entertainment for him? Was she just a pretty little doll for him to play with whenever he felt like it? It was despicable. It was disgusting! He should be bending over backwards trying to make her happy! He should feel ashamed at the fear he saw instilled in an innocent lady’s eyes!_

 

_Shaking with fury, Morgana began to stalk toward them as a predator stalks its prey. He moved steadily closer, his paws padding silently on the pavement, as a feral, protective instinct flared up inside him. He had no idea, that stupid little pretty boy! He had_ no idea _the kind of things Haru was going through!_

 

_However… as he slowly moved forward, his eyes locked on his target, a small part of him asked, in a quiet, knowing voice. A small voice in his heart spoke against the anger with a cutting truth that rendered him immobile._

 

_Was_ he _really any better?_

 

_Morgana stopped dead, feeling as though a mousetrap had closed around his heart._

 

_Haru… She’d suffered so much from the circumstances of her life, from her father’s fiendish control over her, chained down to a miserable fate that’d been decided for her. But still she took the time to follow Morgana, to patiently stay by his side and be a source of comfort for him as he sorted through his own trivial problems. Everything she’d given him, he’d taken without a second thought, without even a word to express the unending gratitude he should have given her for how kind she was to him every day. He was like a demon, dragging her into his dark and twisted world, forcing her to risk her life alongside him as he recklessly leaped again and again into impossible odds, getting her involved with his ridiculous struggle, a struggle he should’ve been able to handle on his own, while completely ignoring hers._

 

_Hadn’t_ he _thought of her as a puppet? Just some useful tool he could use to get his revenge on the others? Had he ever really thought of her as his friend? In all the time they’d spent together, he’d never bothered to actually take the time to have a normal conversation with her. He’d never asked her what kind of problems_ she _had. He’d never asked her why she was so desperate to change her father’s heart. He’d never stopped to wonder what really made her so willing to follow him. Was Morgana really justified in condemning this guy, bastard though he was, for not knowing how Haru felt when he himself had never really stopped to consider it, either?_

 

_He was useless to her… When it really counted, in the real world, he couldn’t do a thing to help her like she’d helped him…_

 

_It was so… unfair!_

 

_A low growl was beginning to rev up in Morgana’s throat as he felt the anger he’d repressed at his own situation start to flare up again. Suddenly, his insecurities of his own powerlessness, his wrenching guilt that he hadn’t done more to help Haru, and his intense loathing of the man who dared cause her pain mixed into one, boiling together into a single, searing thought._

 

_That man was human._

 

_He was a human perfectly capable of comforting Haru, of easing her undeserved pain, yet he, in his selfish desire, insisted on piling more grief onto her. He was a human capable of being everything for Haru that Morgana wasn’t. At least he had a chance to make her happy. How could he fail to appreciate something as wonderful as that?_

 

_How could he be so_ stupid _?_

 

_Morgana let out a deep, rumbling snarl, his anger finally bubbling over. He rushed forward, his claws scraping on the pavement as his vision turned red. This guy was going to pay. Morgana was going to_ make _him pay! He was going to pay for everything he had that Morgana didn’t! He was going to pay for every blessing he had that he took for granted! He was going to pay for spitting on his humanity!_

 

_“You little- Let go of Haru!” A furious yowl exploded out of him, though it probably only sounded like pathetic mewling to the bastard. In a frenzy, he flew at the man’s leg, sinking his claws straight through the soft white cloth of his pant leg and tearing into his flesh, feeling a feral, unrestrainable instinct to attack, to hurt, to_ kill _. He heard a cry of surprise and pain as the man stumbled forward from the force of his attack, releasing Haru, and angrily tried to shake him off. Blood roared in Morgana’s ears as he soared through the air, clinging to his prey with unrelenting, savage fury._

 

_But no matter how fiercely the feeling boiled inside him, no matter how badly he wanted to make his target suffer, it didn’t make a difference if he was powerless._

 

_“Get off, you stupid cat!” With a single, dismissive grunt, the man kicked his leg out forcefully, dislodging Morgana and throwing him against the hard wall of the alley. Morgana cried out in pain as he felt his back slam into the wall, dropping to the ground with blood still dripping from his claws._

 

_He remembered the look in Haru’s eyes… The wide-eyed look of shock and fear as she stood over him, calling out his name in alarm. It hadn’t been necessary. He hadn’t helped. He’d only made it worse. He hissed, feeling pain and guilt sting him equally. She was always so kind to him, but even when he tried to help her, it only brought her more pain…_

 

_And that had been when Akira and the others had found them, probably drawn to the scene by Morgana’s pitiful mewling. They’d found him sprawled on the ground, unable to move, unable to do anything to help the one who’d done so much to help him._

 

_He was so useless…_

 

_He was shocked to learn that the man was her fiancé, but he was too tired and miserable to get angry again… Besides, it wouldn’t only hurt her more…_

 

_Fiancé… She was being forced to_ marry _that slimeball…_

 

_Someone needed to save her. But Morgana couldn’t._

 

_Akira had been the one to rescue her, as Morgana lay there, groaning pitifully. It had been Akira who’d defused the situation, Akira who’d managed to make the creep back down leave the poor, innocent girl alone. That might’ve had more to do with the fact that he was outnumbered… but it didn’t change the fact that against him, Morgana had been outmatched._

 

_That so-called fiancé had given one last, cowardly glare in anger at Haru, as if she’d been the one to cause trouble for him. After that, he’d slunk back off through the alley like a cat with its tail between its legs._

 

_Morgana rose to his feet, shaking off his stiffness, shaking off his pain… But he couldn’t shake off the shame. He couldn’t shake off the nagging, self-conscious aggravation he felt as he watched her_ fiancé _walk off like it was nothing…_

 

_That man… he treated her the same as Morgana had always done. Trying to coldly force her to go along with whatever he wanted just for his own satisfaction… Responding with selfish anger when she tried, timidly, to tell him a truth he didn’t want to hear, when she was only concerned about him…_

 

_Fiancé… what a joke._

 

_“Well,” a sullen voice in the back of his head said, “It’s probably better than having to marry someone like you…”_

 

_Morgana hung his head, looking down at his paws, his red-flecked paws, feeling more pathetic than he’d ever done before. This was why he’d left the others in the first place. He was only taking advantage of them while giving nothing back… And now he’d only found someone else to spread his horrible influence to. He was just a burden to her, too…_

 

_He heard Haru speak quietly, her voice full of frightened misery as she explained what was going on to the others. An arranged marriage… by her father… for the sake of his company… But Morgana wasn’t listening to her words so much as he was her voice. It was a quiet, shuddering squeak of terrified sadness that he’d never heard from her before._

 

_It was heartbreaking._

 

_She’d been suffering like this in total silence, not breathing a word of her situation to Morgana just because she didn’t want to trouble him. And he’d never considered the possibility that she could’ve been going through more than him._

 

_A million questions burned in his head. Questions he’d never thought to ask her before. But above them all, a single instinct bit at him sharply._

 

_Haru… was still in danger._

 

_He’d done that for nothing._

 

_She stood on shaking legs, her breath coming in shallow gasps. She needed a safe place to recover, away from everything that had been thrown onto her, away from her suffocating responsibility._

 

_Makoto suggested they go somewhere for Haru to rest and calm down, and the others all agreed unanimously. Akira offered Leblanc, the café that was his home, the café that, until recently, had Morgana’s home, too, and they all nodded._

 

_…They really were great friends, Morgana thought._

 

_Together, the group set off, Haru being supported by Ann, Morgana trailing miserably along behind them. He winced every time he felt the pain in his back stab at him sharply, but he refused to be carried, refused to be helped, refused to act any more selfishly than he’d already done. If Akira hadn’t been keeping a close eye on him, he might’ve even run away from them again entirely… but that wouldn't solve anything. It was his fault they were all in this terrible and confusing mess… so he owed them an explanation, at least._

 

_When they arrived at the café, making their way into their hideout in the attic, Haru had collapsed almost immediately on the small sofa there, and drifted into a brief, but exhausted, slumber. But Morgana, as tired as he felt, couldn’t do the same. Everyone was silent for a long time, the atmosphere in the room growing more tense than it ever had. Minutes passed… then almost a full hour. Morgana avoided everyone’s eyes, looking pityingly at Haru as she slept._

 

_Eventually, though, the long, painful silence was broken as the brown-haired girl slowly stirred. Morgana felt strangely as though one end of his mouth lifted while the other dropped down, making a strained, lopsided smile as relief and anxiety washed over him. He was glad to see she was okay… But he couldn’t stall it any longer. He’d have to talk to the others now. He wanted to just… get this over with quickly and move on._

 

_Wearily, he tried to explain how he felt to the rest of the group, almost begging them to split up, to just… let him leave. They didn’t need him. He needed them, but… he couldn’t stay with them when he didn’t really have a reason for fighting. Someone like him, someone who wanted to be a phantom thief just for the sake of his own self-satisfaction, someone who acted before he thought and gave into his own selfish impulses had no place among them. How… how could they all be so sympathetic towards him? After he’d abandoned them, after he’d insulted them, after he’d wasted their time and made them worry so much over him… How could they give him the second chance he didn’t deserve?_

 

_But they didn’t let him go. They surrounded him, smiling encouragingly at him, as the struggle raged within him. They weren’t going to give up. They weren’t going to let him give up, either._

 

_Just then, he heard her, and felt a warm, comforting touch embrace him._

 

_“You should stop lying.”_

 

_Haru’s voice gently prodded him, pulling him out of his stubbornly persistent mood as she pulled him into her arms._

 

_“Do you remember what you said to me when I found you collapsed in the Metaverse? That you’re a Phantom Thief. That you’re going to get stronger and have the others acknowledge you. You love being here, don’t you?”_

 

_“O-Of course not…” Morgana wriggled free rather quickly, meowing in surprise, and hopped back onto the table, feeling warm. It felt so… soothing. Her voice, her touch… It made him feel as if… it was okay for him to be honest with himself. To admit what he wanted… To not have to keep it all to himself._

 

_“Mona-chan, why is it that you always talked about becoming human again?”_

 

_“That’s…”_

 

_Why… did he want to be human?_

 

_In the past, it had only been for himself. It’d been something he could hold on to, something he could fight for… It gave him a reason to stay._

 

_He opened his mouth, the words spilling out almost on their own, as he slowly sorted through a twisted jumble of thoughts and emotions._

 

_“At first, I only thought of this team as a temporary dwelling until I regained my memories. But I wasn’t making any progress on finding out what I am or why I was born… I wanted a reason of my own - a reason to stay with the Phantom Thieves. I don’t have anyone I want to save or get revenge on. Someone like me has no reason to stay here…”_

 

_That wasn't who he wanted to be anymore, though. He didn't just want acknowledgement. He didn't just want to be strong, or capable, he wanted to be kind… He wanted to be the same kind of caring person Haru always was to him… That kind of selfless spirit…_

 

_That was what made humans special._

 

_But all he could do was take… He didn’t deserve all this patience and kindness… he didn’t deserve to be given so many chances, time and time again, when he squandered them so thoughtlessly…_

 

_“That’s why… to me… this team is…”_

 

_Above all his self-doubt, a clearer, less weary desire was rising to the surface._

 

_Morgana… didn’t want it to go on like this anymore. There were more important things to worry about than his pride. He wanted to be able to put this behind him._

 

_At last, he decided it wasn't worth it any longer. He swallowed the lump in his throat, looking around at all of his friends, who all looked back at him warmly, and just… admitted it._

 

_“It’s the only place I can really belong! I wanna stay here forever!”_

 

_They all grinned, smirking with amusement as if he’d told them something they knew already. Truth be told, it was a huge relief, a huge weight off his shoulders, to come back, to not feel the need to be their enemy anymore… to belong somewhere. But it was only part of the problem. In his time away, a new conflict had arisen in his heart… And that conflict could be summed up in a single word._

 

_Haru._

 

_How was he ever going to apologize to her? How he was ever going to make it up to her for all support she’d given him… even when he hadn’t appreciated it enough?_

 

_As the others got ready to leave, he glanced at Haru out of the corner of his eye. She hardly looked less exhausted now than she’d been when she entered the café._

 

_Futaba, bless her heart, had offered to let Haru stay at her and her father’s house. Morgana’s heart twisted in pity as he watched her go, walking shakily down the steps of Leblanc’s attic, unable to comfort her, unable to do anything to support her…_

 

_As he drifted to sleep that night, curled up on the covers of Akira’s small bed, he couldn’t take his mind off of her… He couldn’t forget the look in her eyes when she looked at him before, so different from the expressions of bright-eyed trust she had given him so many times. Her eyes, looking down at him with concern, but still with a hint of fear behind them… Afraid of what she’d seen him do… Afraid of the wrathful, demonic_ thing _that he was…_

 

* * *

 

 

Back in the present, those eyes stared into his.

 

They stared at him with almost unbearable concern.

 

The memory felt like poison to him. It served as a perfect reminder, a clear example, of everything he couldn’t do, and everything he couldn’t be. And Haru, even after what she’d been through… she’d still been the one to sooth him, to bring him to his senses, to get him to think clearly… Even though she should've recoiled at his touch as much as her fiancé’s… She’d been the one to reach out to him.

 

Morgana didn’t really know what had happened back then. He had showed off a side of himself he never had before, some wild and burning ferocity that had shocked Haru. It had been… stupid. Hardly a noble act befitting a gentleman thief. His ears burned with shame as he remembered it, but that feeling had only gotten worse since then.

 

Even then, even when Haru had seen the dark, feral anger in him that he’d been unable to control, anger that might’ve gotten her hurt someday, she still stayed by him. She still looked up to him, heeding his advice as they, along with the others, began their infiltration of her father’s Palace with renewed determination to save her from her horrible arranged marriage. Even though she looked up to the others as well… even though they would have been much better mentors for her than he was… She’d relied on him. She didn’t abandon him. He couldn’t possibly have repaid her for all the patience she’d given him, though. He was a warrior, a relentless spirit of aggression that existed only to cut through its enemies with cold efficiency. In matters of kindness… matters of the heart… he couldn’t even come close to her.

 

They hadn’t mentioned that encounter ever since. It was something they both wanted to forget. Morgana couldn’t forget it, though. It ate away at him. And even if it’d be painful for him… he had to apologize to her.

 

“Hey, can I ask you something?” he said quietly

 

“What is it…?” her voice was soft, and gentle, but it made his heart feel like lead. She shouldn’t be showing him this much compassion. He was about to remind her of that horrible experience, all because of his own self-pity. All because he just couldn’t keep it in any longer.

 

He was almost afraid to ask. But it wasn’t like trying to ignore it was going to help, either. And it wasn’t anything he hadn’t been beating himself up over already, anyway. It’d be better to just get it over with. Better to just… hear the truth from her.

 

“Tell me honestly… Did I… did I scare you, then?”

 

At once, a shadow fell over her eyes. He knew she remembered what he was talking about. He knew that suddenly, her heart felt conflicted again. Instantly, regret jabbed at him, sharper than a claw.

 

He shouldn’t have said anything.

 

He tried to open his mouth, to tell her to forget it, but it was too late. She was already trying to answer him as best she could, though he knew she must’ve been feeling terrible again herself.

 

“Honestly, you did startle me a bit… It was the first time I’d seen you so… angry. But-” she spoke tentatively, but Morgana didn’t let her finish.

 

“See?” he cut her off. “I can’t get it right even when I try!” He turned away from her, lowering his head. He couldn’t exactly turn around on the railing, but he couldn’t stand to see the look in her eyes. “I had no right getting so angry like that! I should’ve known it was only going to make things worse! But something… something about that guy just made me want to- to hurt him. To make him understand what you felt when he treated you like that…”

 

It was so hypocritical. Morgana couldn’t even begin to imagine how she’d felt. Whatever it was, it must’ve been something close to what she felt now, as she raised her voice hesitantly, afraid of how he’d react.

 

“But you… you were trying to protect me, weren’t you?”

 

“Trying wasn’t good enough!” he snapped back. “I couldn’t do _anything_ ! I wanted to protect you… But I wasn’t able to! I’m _never_ able to when it matters most! I should’ve been able to something to help you without having to resort to turning into some violent animal! I should’ve…. I-!” he broke off, suddenly realizing his voice had been growing louder and louder. He swallowed, breaking away from Haru’s gaze, and looking at his paws. He reatracted the claws that had protruded from them. “I’m sorry…” he whispered.

 

Silence fell between them, and Haru looked down at her hands again. She'd been about to say something comforting again. She’d been about to show him more of that incomprehensible, unending _kindness_ . He didn’t know how she still could. He didn’t know if he wanted her to. Unintentionally, he let out a small, audible growl. He was so _bad_ at this! There was no point going through this with her. The problem was his. He just wanted her to agree with him. He wanted her to just tell him, straight-up, how pathetic he was. Enough with the sugar-coating. It was what he deserved to hear. It was what he expected to hear.

 

But it was not what he actually heard.

 

“…It’s my fault.”

 

Morgana’s thoughts stopped as abruptly as if they’d hit a brick wall. “…Huh?” was all he managed to breathe out.

 

When he looked back at her, her eyes were full of sadness.

 

Her eyes were full of pain.

 

“I should’ve told you sooner… I should’ve told you about it from the very beginning. But I was too afraid… I didn’t want to burden you anymore than you already were.” She didn’t stop there. Something different had entered her voice, something beyond grief. It was a tone that spoke volumes of the inner struggle within her. It sounded like… guilt. Morgana felt as though his heart had been flipped upside-down. Now it was his turn to be shocked, his turn to stare at her as he saw something in her he never had before. He said nothing, but she continued on, speaking in a rush.

 

“You were always trying so hard to help me, when I was too weak to help myself… I wanted to get away from it all, my cowardly subservience due to my upbringing, my obligation to my father and my vague notions of responsibility… When I met you, Mona-chan, you were like a… like some kind of prince who swept me away from all my troubles.” Morgana felt like he nearly choked, but Haru continued on, apparently not considering her word choice to be an issue. “I didn’t want to think about any of it anymore. I didn’t want to deal with it anymore! I wanted to just… be free. ” She swallowed, wringing her hands and looking at him with guilt-wracked eyes. “All I’ve ever done is act in my own self-interest. I… was using you.”

 

Now that she’d started, she seemed committed to saying everything that she’d been thinking about. Her voice dropped to a whisper Morgana could barely hear.

 

“I tried to ignore it. I tried to block out my misgivings and pretend it was fine… But because I stayed with you, because I was too weak to do anything on my own, you got dragged into my problems. You even got hurt because of me…” As she looked at him, her eyes were nearly filled with tears.“I was really scared… I was afraid I might lose you…”

 

Morgana, stunned, listened to her, his mouth hanging open in shock, hardly able to wrap his head around it as she poured her heart out to _him_. Actually, at that point, he was still stuck somewhere around the “prince” part. That aside, however, he was taken aback by how hard she was being on herself, taken aback by the deep sorrow he heard in her voice. It was like nothing he’d ever heard before. It was the first time he’d really heard her be so honest about what was going on inside her the whole time they were together. That whole time he could’ve asked her, he could’ve gotten her to tell him what she was dealing with, if he hadn’t been so…

 

He blinked.

 

Wait a minute…

 

She had been concerned about _him_ ? Even when he was the one tearing himself up on the inside for not being able to help her, even when he felt disgusted with himself for being so weak, she was still worried that _he_ was in pain? She thought she’d been the one using _him_? That wasn’t right. That was…

 

That was the exact same thing he’d been thinking about her.

 

Then, it all clicked to him.

 

Haru continued speaking in that same pitiable, self-deprecating tone that tugged at his heartstrings. “Can I… can I really be a noble thief if I can’t believe in myself?” She stole a brief, anguished glance behind them, at the others, looking, once again, like she had no place among them. “Can I really belong here if I bring so much pain on the ones I care about so much…?”

 

The conversation had come full circle. She was unwilling to believe in herself, even after all this…

 

Morgana knew how she felt. He knew how persistent these doubts could be, how heavy they felt as they weighed on the conscience. But now he was starting to realize… they didn’t have to deal with them on their own.

 

Every word, every reason she came up with to doubt herself called up a new memory for him. Moments he hadn’t given a second thought to before, but now seemed to be rushing back to him like a flood.

 

She’d had problems. He’d had problems. They both thought they had to cope with them on their own… but they weren’t alone anymore.

 

How had he never seen it before?

 

* * *

 

_They had fought together a few times on their own before Akira and the others had hunted them down. Together, they’d delved into Mementos to fulfill some forum requests on their own, taking action where the Phantom Thieves had remained idle. Although she couldn’t manage her Persona very well, she’d always stood by his side, fearlessly staring down any opponent they encountered, giving him encouragement just by being there. In the oppressive gloom of the twisted, underground labyrinth, they’d stuck together through it all. And after battle, when he was panting on the ground, having been far too reckless, having taken far too many unnecessary risks to prove his own strength, she had been the one to heal him, tenderly applying medicine or bandages as he growled in protest. She’d scolded him at times, too, her voice rising heatedly as she tried to hold him still._

 

_“You’ve got to stop pushing yourself, Mona-chan! You can’t fight every battle on your own!”_

 

_He hated it. He hated seeing her look so upset._

 

_“No…” he breathed back, trying to shake off her gentle administrations, displaying an unfair lack of gratitude to the caring and gentle girl. He tried to stand, feeling his legs wobble beneath him. He was exhausted. He could barely stand on his own. But it wasn’t fair that he should be the one lying on the ground like a useless animal. She’d sustained injuries too, her smooth face marred with ugly bruises… “I’m supposed to be strong! I’m supposed to be able to handle things like this on my own!” He looked into her eyes, feeling his heart twist with unbearable guilt as he saw the concern etched on her face, concern he didn’t deserve. “I’m supposed to be the one to protect you…”_

 

* * *

 

 

What was it about her that made him want to protect her?

 

There was too much.

 

She always put others before herself, even when it got her hurt. Even when she’d been suffering herself under the weight of what her father forced her to go through, she’d always tried so hard to help him. She’d risked her life in dangerous and deadly battles all because he wasn’t strong enough to help her on his own, because he’d had no choice but to rely on her. She’d always been the one who trusted him, she’d always been the one who believed in him, she’d always been the one to save him…

 

So, the only question was, could he do the same for her?

 

_Come on, Morgana…_ the voice in his heart resonated within him. _What kind of a person do you want to be? Are you going to sulk in the shadows forever, or are you going to be the thief she thinks you can be?_

 

_Are you going to tell her what you think she is?_

 

She thought she was the one being selfish… but she’d done so much to help him already. Had it been the same for him? He’d never even considered it before. He’d never even allowed himself the possibility. But could it be that, even while he agonized over the way he couldn't do anything useful for her, he’d been missing something that was right under his nose? Had they really been thinking the same things the whole time without knowing? Morgana almost felt like laughing. It was so… _weird_. But then it seemed like, everything about them was.

 

They really were two of a kind, huh?

 

He’d spent so long trying not to depend on her until he discovered that she was already someone he couldn’t do without.

 

And suddenly, Morgana realized the truth of what had been staring him in the face for so long.

 

If he was a demon…

 

She was an angel.

 

And angels shouldn’t cry.

 

“You’re not the one who’s weak…” he whispered to her. Neither of them were. He stepped closer to her, staring up at her with emotional blue eyes, trying to get her to look at him, trying to make her believe. “You’re the strongest, kindest, most selfless person I’ve ever met…” Even as he spoke, he could see Haru shaking her head slowly. “Enough!” His eyes suddenly blazed with a burning intensity. Suddenly it didn’t matter to him how he did it. He needed her to see that her opinion of herself was completely wrong, like she’d shown him.

 

“So you think you don’t have any right to be here? Well, you’re wrong! ‘Cuz you know what? I do!” he meowed at her insistently, trying, trying so hard to be finally be truthful about his feelings to the one who’d given the most back to him. “You saved my life and gave me a reason to stay. You didn’t have to help me, you didn’t have to risk everything you had for someone like me, but you did! You listened to me with an open heart, and you didn’t even know me… You always believed in me, no matter what I did…” He swallowed, feeling a lump rise in his throat. “I was selfish before. I wanted to change your father’s heart all on my own to prove myself. But I couldn’t do it alone. I couldn’t do it without you. I…”

 

He still felt it wasn’t enough. He still felt he needed to prove it to her, needed to finally show her how much she meant to him. He took a deep breath before he continued.

 

“When I’m with you…” his voice dropped, speaking with the utmost sincerity and gentleness he could, though it was only a fraction of the tenderness she’d given him. “I feel like I can do anything. I feel like having you by my side gives me strength, strength I never had before. When I’m with you, I feel like… a part of me that was missing from before… is there. I don’t know how to explain it, but…” He shook his head, forgoing the need for words, and staring straight into her hazel eyes. “I’m not a complete person without you…”

 

For a moment, those hazel eyes stared right back at him, gazing into his as watery, grateful happiness welled up within them. “Mona-chan…”

 

Then, before he could react, Haru reached out and brushed the top of his head with a delicate hand.

 

It was just a brief moment, just a fraction of a second, but the instant, fleeting moment of contact made Morgana feel as though he’d been hit with a Lucky Punch.

 

“You’re so sweet, Mona-chan…” Haru said, sniffling a little, but keeping his gaze. “Thank you. I feel… I feel better now. I’m sorry to have worried you so much…”

 

Morgana shook his head, trying to get a grip on himself as his mind whirled around, dazed. It wasn’t the first time she’d scratched him behind the ears. She often did so teasingly whenever he to get into one of his stubborn moods, her face alight with amusement as he ducked away from her, huffing in protest. But there was something different about this time, something so oddly satisfying about the way her delicate fingers rubbed softly through his fur that Morgana felt a shiver run down his spine.

 

_Her touch… felt so nice…_

 

“I-I told you, don’t apologize,” he muttered nervously, his tail swishing. Even when he was the one supposed to be encouraging her, she was still thinking about him… He didn’t feel so torn about accepting her natural kindness anymore, but she needed to think about herself more, too. Morgana threw caution to the wind and decided to be, for once, completely honest with her. Completely honest about the way he felt about her. “I just wanted you to know how amazing you are…”

 

That seemed to do it. Her eyes were shining, happier than he’d even seen them. Embarrassed though he was… it felt really nice to see her eyes light up like that.

 

Morgana might’ve been content to leave it at that, turning away from her before she could see him get any more embarrassed. But one more thought, one more wish, was urging him on, to do more. The gloomy air over both of them was starting to dissipate, and he was going to do whatever he could to make sure it never troubled them again. It started as a small feeling… He didn’t intend to say it out loud.

 

His mouth, it seemed, had other plans.

 

“…I’m going to get stronger.”

 

He didn’t realize he had spoken until the words came out of his mouth. Haru tilted her head, looking puzzled.

 

His statement had really come out of nowhere, but he didn’t feel embarrassed about it this time. His mind was unclouded, and it was all because of her. So he wanted her to know what he intended to do now. Because for once, he knew. “Because of you, I know who I am now. And I’m fine with that… but that’s still not really who I want to be. I want to be someone that you can rely on. I want to be able to stand on my own two feet. Well, paws,” he chuckled. He really couldn’t stop it with the lame jokes, could he? Nevertheless, he grinned at Haru even as she continued to look at him in confusion. He just had to make her understand, that’s all. “I don’t know how… I don’t know how long it’ll take… But I’m going to try harder than ever. I promise you, someday…” Morgana looked her straight in the eyes. “I’m going to become someone worthy of you.”

 

_Wait wait woah woah woah back up there Morgana that’s getting a little bit too far into-_

 

_Oh, shut it, me,_ the stronger, less cowardly part of him, said.

 

He was well aware that he was dangerously close to crossing the line he’d been trying so hard not to cross the whole time. Out of context, his comment implied _way_ more than he initially wanted it to… But he didn’t really care anymore. It was what he really felt. So he had no reason to be ashamed of it.

 

He… He wanted her to know. He _had_ to tell her.

 

So what if he was powerless? As a cat, he might not have been able to do anything to help her, but that was going to change. _He_ was going to change it. The one thing he wasn’t _ever_ going to let her do again was suffer alone. He wasn’t going to let her be so harsh on herself, not when _he_ was the one who’d brought so much conflict into her life. He was a gentleman thief. A true hero of chivalry. It was time to live up to it.

 

For once, he was going to bring peace to her, not pain.

 

“I won’t… I won’t run away again.” he said slowly. “I won’t turn up my nose and try to pretend that I’m so much better than everyone else while I turn my back and ignore what’s really important. What I did before was awful. There’s no reason to pretend it wasn’t. I didn’t even stop to think about what you might’ve been suffering while I was wrapped in my own self-pity. I… I’m sorry.” Morgana swallowed. It was more a force of habit than anything. He would never stop wanting to apologize to her. But he wasn’t saying all this just to keep dragging himself back into the past. He was doing this to move past the past.

 

“The way I see it, though, I can either keep feeling terrible about it, or do something to change it. So… I’m going to change.” He took a deep breath, but continued on without hesitation. “I wanted to be human… because I thought just being human would solve all my problems. But that’s not what this is about anymore. I might become human, I might not… but I can still get stronger. I don’t just want to get stronger for my own sake anymore. I want to do it for you…”

 

And that, in his mind, was as worthwhile a goal as any. She had given him so much strength… so maybe he just had to give her some of his strength in return.

 

A deep silence fell between them as he let out his breath, finished with his speech. Haru didn’t respond. Not that she needed to. Somehow, Morgana could tell that she understood. She always understood him, after all. All the same, he couldn’t resist shooting a glance at her out of the corner of his eye. Okay, he totally hadn’t been trying to show off or anything, but…

 

That _had_ sounded pretty cool, right? Right?

 

_Oh, you’re hopeless._ Honestly, he wasn’t sure which part of his brain said that.

 

In any case, though, he was feeling immensely satisfied. Now he had gotten all he wanted to off his chest.

 

It seemed Haru hadn’t, however.

 

“You know, it’s rather strange, but I just thought of something…” Her voice was a whisper again as she traced a finger along the rail in contemplation. When Morgana turned to look at her again, she cast a sidelong glance at him, a bit of a sly look entering her eye. “You came over to talk to me because you felt lonely, didn’t you?”

 

“W-What!?” Morgana yelped as he bolted upright, suddenly feeling self-conscious again. How had she figured it out that quickly? Had he really been that obvious? “I mean, I was just… It wasn’t like I…” he trailed off, feeling his face burn as she looked at him with mischievous amusement. Trying to keep secrets from her was really more trouble than it was worth. It was too hard to think straight when she looked at him like that. “Um… Yeah.”

 

Haru giggled. “It’s alright, Mona-chan,” she said softly, knowingly. “I felt lonely too, so I’m glad you came to see me. I’m glad we could talk together. Truth be told… It feels nice, to be like this. Like we’re in our own little world. It… feels like it used to. It feels comfortable.” She gave another short, quiet laugh, one that made Morgana’s embarrassment melt away. He supposed he didn’t really have to feel ashamed of this, either. He smiled at Haru and she smiled back, her voice growing more excited as she continued.

 

”Everything changed when I first met you… For me, it felt like a whole new chapter started in my life. And listening to everything you said… I feel really excited to find out what’s next, to discover what the future will hold. I want to get stronger, too. I want to be able to leave behind the shallow person I used to be. So I was wondering…”

 

She paused, her gaze becoming serious once more. Once again, Morgana could see a quiet, resolute determination flickering in her eyes. “Since we know each other so well… Since we’ve already been through so much already… If we both want to get stronger, what if we do it together? What if we… made a deal?”

 

“You mean… a deal between thieves?” Morgana’s eyes lit up with excitement as he caught on. Haru nodded eagerly, her eyes gleaming. “Mewhehehe…!” He couldn’t help but let out a mewling chuckle, baring his teeth in a small grin. What a purr-fect plan his partner had thought up! A secret contract of solidarity would be just the thing they needed. It would symbolize what had brought them together in the first place, as well as what they strived to achieve moving forward. It was nothing short of brilliant. “Alright, let’s do it, miss Beauty Thief!” he said enthusiastically, though with a slightly playful tone, dropping into his gentlemanly voice once again. “Both of us… We’ll both do our best to become stronger from here on out! And we’ll both help each other get there… together.”

 

His fellow thief looked positively overjoyed, her eyes shining with gratitude. “I… I truly feel like I can become stronger if I have you by my side, Mona-chan…” she whispered.

 

Morgana let out another lighthearted chuckle. That was the same thing he had been thinking about her. Again. Was she psychic or something?

 

His heart felt wonderfully fulfilled, untwisted and free. Even if it was just a simple promise… it made her happy. He’d finally managed to do something right for once. And that was all he needed. “Alright, then it’s a deal. For now, though…” He turned his head, looking up to where the magnificent fireworks still twinkled above them, and gave Haru a one-eyed grin. “Let’s just rest for a while, eh? I think we’ve earned it.”

 

Haru laughed softly, happily, and lifted her eyes to take in the fireworks once more. “I agree.”

 

Silence once more fell between them, but this time Morgana didn’t mind it. It was a comfortable silence, the two of them simply focusing on the beautiful sight in the sky and enjoying the other’s presence. Morgana had never taken note of it before, but it felt so nice just _being_ around Haru. His heart might’ve still been racing… but it felt lighter than it had in a long time. This had gone nothing like how he’d expected it to… but he couldn’t exactly say he was disappointed, either.

 

Maybe… maybe this had been worth it after all.

 

Nah, scratch that. It definitely was.

 

Everything seemed brighter now, less shadowed, as they let their troubles gently drift away. The night was still just as luxuriously dreamlike as it’d always been, but it all seemed much more enjoyable now that Morgana had managed to get out all the distress that had been plaguing him. Both of them. It felt much more satisfying to enjoy a night like this next to someone who really understood you. Someone who made you this happy… Morgana had finally found the piece that was missing. And all it had taken was… having a little faith in himself.

 

_Destinyland, huh…_ The name seemed oddly fitting now.

 

Briefly, he turned to look back at Akira, but all he could see was the frizzy back of his partner’s hair, as he appeared deep in conversation with the others.. However, just before Morgana turned back to the fireworks, to Haru, Akira tilted his head slightly to the right, catching the cat’s eye and giving him a subtle wink. His face was as passive as ever, but Morgana thought he looked rather pleased. Morgana chuckled to himself. He would have to remember to thank his partner later. He suddenly felt as if he had a lot of reasons to thank all his friends. His lighthearted contentment seemed just as pervasive as his sulking gloominess from before had been. He felt great!

 

But… How did Joker always seem to know when people were looking at him, anyway? Maybe he had a third eye in the back of his head.

 

Morgana turned his attention back to Haru as she gave a deep, yet contented sigh, staring up at the fireworks with an expression of innocent wonder. Her eyes seemed to sparkle with the reflection of the dazzling sight, hazel turning into glittering gold.

 

And suddenly… Suddenly Morgana found that he couldn’t look away. Subconsciously, he let out a low purr.

 

Those eyes… they shimmered with a mesmerizing glow, almost like treasure…

 

“The fireworks really are beautiful, aren’t they?” Haru said quietly.

 

“They’re not as beautiful as you.”

 

The words slipped out before he had a chance to stop them.

 

Haru let out a soft giggle, casting her eyes to the side, looking embarrassed, but pleased. She reached up and toyed with a strand of her brown hair nervously. “Oh, Mona-chan, I…” Then, it was as if something clicked in her head, as the full meaning of the words and who had spoke them registered to her. Her eyes widened in surprise and she gave a small gasp, turning to face the one next to her. “M-Mona-chan…?” she breathed, her voice raising an octave.

 

Morgana’s eyes suddenly snapped open as he felt himself jolted out of his trance. Wha… What had gotten into him? Where had that come from? Why had he said something like that? Why couldn’t he keep his big mouth shut?

 

“I-I mean…!” he stuttered out quickly, recoiling in shame. His face suddenly felt as if it were on fire. He was sure if he didn’t have fur, it would be turning as red as the fireworks above them. He cast around wildly for some explanation, some reasonable justification for what he’d just said. There was none. His brain, which was normally so quick to think up new ideas for clever infiltration tools or grand schemes for dramatic heists, so quick to find ways to escape, now felt as though it were slowly being fried. Glued to the railing, he could only sit there in quaking silence, feeling paralyzing horror spreading through him as it was no doubt spreading through her.

 

_You have made a mistake! You have made a terrible mistake!_

 

When he finally regained the ability to speak, he gushed out a series of hurried and desperate apologies, mewling away nonstop.

 

“I-I’m sorry! T-That just slipped out! I didn’t mean to- I-I don’t know what I was thinking! I just…” _Just what, Morgana?_ Even as he babbled rapidly, a less frantic voice spoke clearly in the back of his head. _Got caught up in the mood? Forgot to be afraid to be honest? Couldn’t help but admit how gorgeous she really is?_

 

_Shut up, meee!_ he growled back.

 

He’d acted selfishly again. He just couldn’t restrain himself, could he!? Why couldn’t he ever get a grip on himself when he was around Haru? He tried to apologize again. He tried to tell her to forget it. A million different things ran through his head, things that could explain away his out-of-the-blue comment, but he couldn’t wrap his stupid slippery tongue around any of them. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't just gloss over what he’d said with a hurried apology. He couldn't just play it off like he managed to play off so many of his comments before. And besides…

 

Did he really want to?

 

It had felt wonderful to be so refreshingly honest with her before… It had been wonderful to see her eyes light up in happiness, a happiness _he_ instilled in her, as he told her how much she really meant to him. But still, she couldn’t… She didn’t really think of him like… She couldn’t possibly have taken him seriously this time, could she?

 

Morgana stopped abruptly, nearly choking on his tongue, when he realized that Haru’s face had gotten slightly closer to his.

 

“Oh, Mona-chan…” she whispered. Her alluring hazel eyes pierced him, fixing him to the spot. She should've been looking at him with disgust. She should’ve been looking at him with the same horrified fear she had before, when he’d gone berserk. She should’ve been looking at him like he was… a freak. But she wasn’t looking at him like that at all. She was leaning forward, inching her face closer to his, her breathing low and shallow. He could feel it, warm and sweet-smelling, ghost across his face. Their eyes were locked together.

 

Suddenly any words he’d been trying to stutter out dried up on his tongue, and he stared at her, his mouth hanging wide open. He couldn’t do anything but stare, feeling himself being drawn deeper and deeper into her eyes… He couldn’t tear himself away from those hazel eyes, eyes that always seemed to stare through his mask into his very soul…

 

He was a cat. He was a _cat_! He shouldn’t even be thinking about something like that! It- It made no sense! He wasn’t even… He didn’t even have lips… Haru couldn’t be… She couldn’t actually be about to do what he thought she was, could she?

 

“Morgana…” she murmured, her eyes half-lidded. The diminutive was gone. Her voice was scarcely more than a whisper, scarcely more than a single, hopeful breath as radiant happiness filled every part of her face. She looked at him with a glowing gaze, not as a cat, not as a phantom thief… but as just Morgana. “Did you mean it?”

 

And as Morgana looked at her, he felt his frantic desire to try and slip past the situation slowly fading away. Slowly, something else dawned on him that he should’ve realized sooner. No matter what he did… No matter how many times he messed up, or how badly, this girl, this unbelievably sweet and caring girl had stayed with him through everything. Even now… even when he’d blurted out something that must’ve been so shocking, so unthinkable, so _weird_ … she never turned away from him. She looked at him in a way the others didn’t… in a way that made him feel, for the first time, like he was someone truly special. She didn't care whether he was a cat, a monster, or whatever he was… She always made him feel like he belonged somewhere, right beside her, no matter who he was. She… She was his closest friend. Or maybe something more…?

 

Could it really be…? Could someone like him… someone who’d done nothing but cast shadows over her brilliant light… Could he be the one to fulfill her desires…? Could he really get her to look at him the same way he looked at her?

 

Was it even worth the risk…?

 

Was _she_ worth the risk?

 

Morgana couldn’t move. He couldn’t respond. He couldn’t think. All around them, the world had faded into the background. Right now, it didn’t matter who he was. It didn’t matter how weak he was, how selfish he felt, how recklessly hopeful he was for even daring to entertain this possibility, this wild fantasy that had somehow slipped the boundary between cognition and reality. It didn’t even matter that he was a cat. Right now, nothing mattered except the beautiful, breathless girl before him, looking at him with a softly expectant look in her deep, hazel eyes. For once, Morgana decided to forget about everything else and let the quiet voice of desire in his heart speak. He opened his mouth slowly.

 

“I…” _Love you…_

 

The words had been right on the tip of his tongue before it all shattered to pieces.

 

“Hey, ain’t it nearly time for that press conference?”

 

A loud voice came from the direction of the group table, thundering through the moment like the roar of a speeding train. The ~~couple~~ two pulled back, whipping their heads to the side.

 

The one who had spoken - Ryuji, effing _Ryuji_ \- was looking around at the others, holding out his cell phone. The volume from the group seemed to increase as they gathered closer around the main table, the topic of conversation shifting onto what Ryuji had reminded them of. Though thankfully, none of them glanced over to see the pair standing apart from them. Having almost forgotten the others were there to begin with, Morgana nearly felt as though he could’ve died from shock and embarrassment.

 

The timing couldn’t have been worse.

 

Earlier in the day, Haru had told them that her father planned to hold a live press conference on the news that night. It presumably had something to do with the change of heart, so they were all keen to follow the story closely, especially if they could find out more info they hadn’t been able to get out of Okumura’s Shadow. They’d been waiting in suspense all night to watch the conference themselves on their phones. It was admittedly a pretty big deal… but why, _why_ couldn’t it have waited until just a few minutes later…?

 

This time, Morgana felt like his courage shriveled up and died entirely.

 

He could feel his paws tingling, alarm bells ringing in his head as he quickly glanced back at Haru, who was still looking at the others, frozen. She was distracted. If he ever wanted to get out of the disastrous situation he’d gotten himself into, this was his only chance. But… something in him didn’t want to leave it like this. He didn’t want to just run away like a coward. Their faces were still so close together… And he’d never wanted anything so badly in his life.

 

_Y’know what? Screw it!_

 

He was a phantom thief. When he wanted something, he took it.

 

So, faster than a bullet, he darted his head forward and briefly touched his nose to Haru’s cheek. It only lasted an instant, but it made Morgana’s heart explode with satisfied warmth.

 

_Mission complete. Run… Now!_

 

Morgana forced his legs into motion, leaping off the railing in a flash. He sprinted low to the ground before anyone could spot him, ducked quickly under the table by Akira, then lay quivering between his master’s legs.

 

_Phew… Escape successful!_

 

Around him, there was the sound of wood scraping stone as the others shifted in their chairs, drawing out their phones simultaneously. Morgana was quite content to hide in the shadows for a moment as their attentions were drawn to the news app on their phones. He even heard Ryuji bouncing his legs in excitement under the table near him. Morgana let out a short growl. What an insensitive prick. He wasn’t sure whether he should be grateful to the blonde or vow to punch him in the face later. He was having a hard time thinking about much of anything as the memory of what just happened burned vividly in his head. On one paw, the blonde had just saved him from a highly embarrassing situation he had no idea what to do in… but on the other paw, the blonde had also _interrupted_ an extremely tender situation that Morgana _wanted_ to be in. It had been his _one_ chance to be perfectly, uninihbitedly honest, but the dumb loudmouth had ruined it. He ruined everything! Typical. He was such a thick-headed, moronic, carnal, blonde… monkey! Arrrrrgh! For now, Morgana settled for raking his claws against the ground in silent fury.

 

Although, in a weird, roundabout way, if it hadn’t been for Ryuji, Morgana might not have gone to speak with Haru in the first place. Actually… he might not have even met Haru in the first place.

 

…Why must everything be so confusing?

 

The cat sighed, rather shakily, his heart still racing.

 

_Gah, what is with you!?_ he stormed at himself, unable to handle the nervous tension he’d felt through the entire night. He had been right there, he’d been just about to say it, but he chickened out at the last second! Just a moment of hesitation had been all it took for everything to blow up in his face! It was so tactless of him! Haru must’ve thought he was such a… _loser_ ! _You, are, such, an, idiooot!_ Growling in frustration, he punctuated every word by knocking his head none too gently on one of the legs of Akira’s chair. “You alright…?” he heard the chair’s inhabitant mutter under his breath down to him. Morgana let out a self-conscious whimper, unable to bring himself to meet his friend’s eyes.

 

“I’m fine…” he breathed, trying to sound more convinced of that than he felt. It was probably pointless with Akira, though. Morgana could almost feel the human shaking with amusement. Or maybe that was just him shaking. “Just shut up, Akiraaaa….” he whined.

 

“If you say so,” Akira chuckled, turning his eyes to his phone as he turned it on. Morgana didn't even need to be able to see the dark-haired human’s face to picture the look of smug amusement on it. He hadn’t exactly been subtle about what he expected to happen when he first encouraged Morgana to go and speak to Haru. But as perceptive as Akira was, even he could never have understood the whirlwind of emotions that Morgana was currently experiencing.

 

He was _petrified_ , absolutely bristling with anxiety, his tail flailing to and fro in agitation. He nearly cried out in frustration as he tried, and failed (several times), to bring his head back down to earth. He just couldn’t just shake off the feeling of that moment, he couldn’t shake the look in Haru’s eyes, a look that gave him shivers, as she leaned closer to him, the breath of a small wish on her lips as she held them slightly parted…

 

Gaaaaaah, he was going to _die_! The heat wouldn’t leave his face, his chest wouldn’t stop heaving, his tiny body wouldn’t stop shaking with barely containable embarrassment. He scored his claws across the stone ground of the pavilion again and again, fidgeting constantly, feeling as though he were being boiled alive.

 

_Breathe… For the love of god, breathe, Morgana!_

 

But he couldn’t breathe anymore. He couldn’t stop trembling. He couldn’t think of anything other than that moment, the dazzlingly perfect moment of them, just them, face to face beneath the fireworks, staring into each other’s eyes, slowly growing closer and closer…

 

_Their faces had only been inches apart…_

 

His head reeled as if fireworks were exploding inside it, and he squeezed his eyes shut, unable to take it any longer.

 

How long he stayed under the table, he didn’t know. Eventually, though, he did manage to calm down a little, taking shuddering breaths as the fireworks in his head fizzled out slowly. His chest, however, still felt painfully tight as he took a deep breath in. As more rational thought came back to him, he swallowed, feeling a heavy weight sliding into his stomach.

 

Haru… Haru wasn’t angry, was she?

 

In spite of himself, Morgana peeked out from his place of security and tried to catch a glimpse of her. She’d moved away from the rail, standing a bit closer to the table, and the others. Her eyes were locked on her phone, through they flitted to the side occasionally, as if she were trying to avoid meeting anyone’s eye. It might have been his imagination… but she didn’t seem at all upset by what had just happened. She only looked a little flustered, and if possible… disappointed?

 

Morgana stared for just a moment, fixing the image of the pleasurably flustered face in his mind. It was rather… adorable, he admitted, the way her cheeks were tinged pink with a faint blush, the way her bright white teeth were barely visible in a small, delighted smile. It was a face Morgana felt he could have stared at for hours. His paws felt as if they were floating on air. He… He’d done that? She didn’t mind? She might’ve even… enjoyed it? A warm, fuzzy feeling was beginning to spread slowly through his insides. They still squirmed in embarrassment, but it was a far more comfortable sensation than anything else he’d felt that night. Morgana couldn’t help it. As he vanished beneath the table again, he let out a quiet and satisfied purr, so low that not even Akira could hear him.

 

Maybe… just maybe… he could actually manage to steal a heart on his own after all.

 

He had to become human as soon as possible.

 

But even when, not if, he became human…

 

This would be a memory he cherished for the rest of his life.

 

What a wonderful night to be himself.

 

* * *

 

**Author's Note:**

> Well done, Haru. You almost broke the only Morgana we had.
> 
> Sooo… I’m it.
> 
> I’m the guy that ships this.
> 
> Like, the ONLY guy that ships this. 
> 
> BUT WHYYYYYYY??????????
> 
> IT’S SO KYUUUUUUUUTTTT
> 
>  
> 
> wait a minute, does Haru even have hazel eyes
> 
> …
> 
> she does now
> 
>  
> 
> Seriously though, I LOVE BOTH OF THESE DORKS. I shipped them from THE MOMENT they first appeared together. I mean they’re just both classy, overdramatic little nerds who geek out over being Phantom Thieves. Ish sho cute. And I think it served Morgana well to have someone to believe in him and look up to him, someone he could “mentor” and protect on his own… and Haru, the tooth-rottingly sweet cotton candy puff she is, was that for him. And then, before he knew it… he had had his widdle heart stolen. <3
> 
> And ever since, every time, EVERY time Morgana was all “Be careful, Noir! Don’t let your guard down!” and everyone else was like “Aww, he’s worried about her again. ^_^” and then Morgana’s all “I-It’s not like that! -^-” I’m like “GAH, Morganayouarenotfoolinganyoneyouadorablelittlemarshmellow!” 
> 
> Ahem. Yes, I am a little bit obsessed over this.
> 
> So when I found out that there was almost nothing about them on the magnificent internet… I was SHOCKED. And that’s when this idea came to me. I decided there and then that if no-one else was going to, then I would. In fact, I’m pretty sure my exact thoughts were: “Hell, I’ve never backed down from a really bad idea before.”
> 
> Anyway… Tell me what you think in the comments. Like, please. I’m morbidly curious whether anyone’s thought of this before. Even if you didn’t… reviews, criticisms, or additional thoughts are also appreciated! This is the first time I’ve ever actually tried writing something passable… so it’s probably not perfect, but if you’re still here, it must have done something right!
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> (Aaah, it’s my first fanfic ever tho, I’m having the time of my life right now ^_._^)


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